DWC Provides Guidance on Requirements for Workers to Get 2nd IMR

Getting a second go-round through the independent medical review process is not as simple as asking for it, even if there is no dispute that the initial IMR decision was invalid, according to a letter by the California Division of Workers' Compensation issued last week. Labor Code 4610.6 provides that the remedy for an invalid IMR is another round of review, and subsection (i) expressly directs the DWC to re-submit a treatment dispute to IMR if the original decision is reversed. However, DWC Administrative Director Destie Overpeck told the attorneys in Darlene Health's comp case that ...